Japan's Sengoku Period: The Sanada Clan's Ambition

Chapter 25 Tokugawa VS Hojo
Because he was to attend the Kiyosu Conference, Tokugawa Ieyasu was not initially in the territory.

But this does not mean that the Tokugawa family is doing nothing.

In fact, after the Honnoji Incident broke out, Tokugawa Ieyasu quickly moved forward and crossed Iga (Iga Province was in chaos and no one dared to pass through it).

Thanks to the protection of his retainer Hattori Hanzo, Tokugawa Ieyasu was able to escape Iga (the so-called "Divine Lord Iga-goshi") and then return to Mikawa by boat from Ise.

Upon returning home, Tokugawa Ieyasu did not dare to launch a large-scale attack on Oda clan territory because the situation in Kyoto was still unclear.

After all, the Tokugawa clan had always been the Oda clan's subordinate and staunch ally. If they were to openly attack the Oda clan's territory, Tokugawa Ieyasu would not dare to do so.

At that time, Anayama Nobu-kun (the senior retainer of the Takeda clan who surrendered) was attacked and killed on his way to escape Kyoto, leaving the Anayama clan leaderless.

Tokugawa Ieyasu then first occupied the territory of the Anayama clan, and then secretly contacted the Takekawa clan (a samurai group in Kai Province), bringing a large number of former retainers of the Takeda clan under his command.

At this time, the Oda clan was controlled by Hidetaka Kawajiri in the Kai region.

Kawajiri Hidetaka, suspecting that someone was planning to incite an uprising, killed a group of former retainers of the Takeda clan, which aroused the dissatisfaction of the Kai samurai and instead ignited the Kai uprising.

Hidetaka Kawajiri was later killed by an uprising.

Now, Kai, like Shinano, had become "no man's land," and Tokugawa Ieyasu immediately felt that an opportunity had come.

Through the Kiyosu Conference, Tokugawa Ieyasu obtained permission from the Oda clan to launch an uprising in Shinano and Kai provinces.

After receiving permission, Tokugawa Ieyasu immediately launched a full-scale offensive against the Kai region.

Shinano, Saku County.

The Hojo clan held a full-day military council, where Hojo Ujinao and his retainers engaged in heated discussions about how to proceed with the next campaign.

Finally, Hojo Ujinao had to face a reality: if he didn't go to Kai soon, he might end up losing his share of Shinano and Kai.

After consulting with Hojo Ujimasa, Hojo Ujinao summoned Sanada Nobuyuki.

"Lord Sakyō-daifu, what are your orders?" Now, facing Hojo Ujinao, Sanada Nobuyuki's attitude was not as tough as before.

Sometimes, making appropriate concessions can keep the conversation going, while being overly assertive can backfire.

Hojo Ujinao stared at Sanada Nobuyuki for a long while, and finally gritted his teeth and said, "Our main family agrees to the Sanada family's request and will no longer enter Komoro Castle."

"but!"

"The Sanada family must immediately assemble their forces and deploy them along the Toishi Castle line to prevent the Uesugi family from advancing south."

Hojo Ujinao's reaction was not unexpected by Sanada Nobuyuki; otherwise, the Sanada family would never have dared to be so forceful in the first place.

"Lord Sakyō, rest assured, with the Sanada family here, the Uesugi family's military might will never cross the Chikuma River."

"Leave the rear of the Hojo clan to my Sanada clan with peace of mind," Sanada Nobuyuki replied confidently.

Hojo Ujinao said, feigning fierceness, "I hope so!"

Soon, the Hojo clan's army abandoned its plan to continue north to attack Shinano and instead headed south to prepare to enter Kai Province.

As the Tokugawa army had begun to enter Kai Province, Hojo Ujinao dared not delay for a moment and rushed upstream along the Chikuma River.

On July 7th, Hojo Ujinao arrived at Wakamiko, while Tokugawa Ieyasu personally led an army of 8,000 men to garrison Shinpu Castle, and the two sides began a standoff.

Meanwhile, the Hojo clan's offensive from another direction also encountered setbacks. Hojo Ujikatsu and Hojo Ujitada led a detachment of 10,000 men and encountered Torii Mototada, a retainer of the Tokugawa clan, near Misaka Pass.

Torii Mototada commanded 1200 men in his own unit, 300 men under his nephew Miyake Yasusada, and 500 men under Mizuno Katsunari, for a total of 2000 men.

Unexpectedly, after the two armies clashed, Torii Mototada gained the upper hand.

After a day of fierce fighting, the Hojo clan retreated after losing 300 men, a move that even Torii Mototada himself found unbelievable.

Am I too strong or is Hojo too weak?

When the news reached Tokugawa Ieyasu and Hojo Ujinao, their reactions were completely different.

Tokugawa Ieyasu was naturally overjoyed and publicly praised Torii Mototada. Hojo Ujinao, on the other hand, cursed him outright.

"waste!"

"More than 10,000 men were actually defeated by Torii Mototada's 2000 men!"

"Is this the general that Father was so proud of?" Hojo Ujinao's words were actually somewhat irrational, because Hojo Ujitsada and Hojo Ujokatsu were both members of the Hojo clan, so this was tantamount to insulting himself.

Soon, Hojo Ujinao realized this and changed the subject, asking, "Have you found out anything about the Tokugawa army?"

The Hojo clan's intelligence gathering was handled by the Fuma Clan, whose leader was called Fuma Kotaro (every leader was called Kotaro, including Hattori Hanzo of the Tokugawa clan).
"My lord, the Tokugawa army is currently repairing the new castle, and it is said that many former retainers of the Takeda clan have joined the Tokugawa side."

"The military strength of the Tokugawa clan is increasing every day."

After suffering a defeat at Misaka Pass, Hojo Ujinao dared not launch an attack on Tokugawa Ieyasu rashly for the time being.

After news of the defeat arrived, the morale of the Hojo clan was extremely low.

Left with no other option, Hojo Ujinao could only order the troops to continue their deployment at Wakamiko.

Meanwhile, inside the Tokugawa clan's main camp at Shinpu Castle.

After seeing off yet another Takeda retainer who had come to join him, Tokugawa Ieyasu was clearly in a good mood.

"My lord, your plan has worked. If this continues, it won't be long before Kai is completely under our control."

Beside Tokugawa Ieyasu, Honda Masanobu spoke with an excited expression.

Tokugawa Ieyasu touched his shiny forehead, revealing a set of white teeth. "I have to thank the Hojo clan. If it weren't for the Hojo clan's intervention, how could my clan have so easily recruited these former retainers of the Takeda clan?"

"These are the people that even Lord Nobunaga refused to submit to," Tokugawa Ieyasu couldn't help but remark.

Both were vying for territory, but Tokugawa Ieyasu's methods were clearly far more sophisticated than those of the hot-headed Hojo Ujinao.

Hojo Ujinao's side had the mindset of "the advantage is in my hands," and they fought their way into Kai with a conquering mentality.

Meanwhile, Tokugawa Ieyasu was simultaneously winning over former retainers of the Takeda clan who were close to him, while also using the pretext of supporting Kai Province.

Kai was already in chaos at this time, with uprisings breaking out everywhere.

The samurai of these organizations were also confused about the future. The uprising had broken out, but what would happen afterward?
They don't have a leader at all; they're all fighting their own battles.

The intervention of the Hojo clan, an external force, threw the samurai of Kai into a panic.

At this moment, Tokugawa Ieyasu suddenly appeared like the sun, directly warming the hearts of the Kai samurai.

Thus, without Tokugawa Ieyasu exerting much effort, these Kai samurai spontaneously united around him.

"Hojo Uji Nao?"

"He's still too young after all." Tokugawa Ieyasu lay comfortably in the courtyard, his head resting on his hands.

Honda Masanobu continued, "This stalemate with the Hojo clan is not a solution. In Shinano, the Uesugi clan also seems to be planning to control Shinano."

"If we continue this stalemate with the Hojo clan, what if the Uesugi clan reaps the benefits?"

Upon hearing Honda Masanobu's words, Tokugawa Ieyasu's expression changed, and he abruptly turned around, asking, "Where is Sanada?"

What is the Sanada family doing?

　After the Honnoji Incident, the Konoshino region became a no-man's-land because all of the Oda clan's generals in the region fled.

　　At this time, the Tokugawa, Uesugi, and Hojo families began to fight over the Koshin region, causing the samurai of Koshin to take sides and fall into chaos.

　　This incident is known as the "Ten-shin Ren-wu Rebellion".

　　After the war, the Uesugi and Hojo clans withdrew their troops, and Tokugawa Ieyasu took control of Kai and Shinano. The samurai of both regions swore allegiance to Tokugawa Ieyasu. The petition jointly signed by these samurai is known as the "Tensho Jingo Petition".

　　
　
(End of this chapter)